McIlroy big draw at PGA Grand Slam

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14: World sport’s newest A-list star will be the main attraction at this year’s PGA Grand Slam.

With Tiger Woods taking a back seat, the 2011 golf season has been all about one man – Rory McIlroy.

The 22-year-old thrilled the crowds and destroyed the field as he broke every record in the book to win the US Open.

And the affable Irishman has become an off-course sensation too. There is no word yet on whether his girlfriend – world tennis number one Caroline Wozniacki – will be joining him in Bermuda.

But the Irishman alone gets a ‘rock star’ reception at most events. Bermuda sports fans are typically a bit more subdued.

But there’s no doubt he will be the one to watch at Port Royal next week when he takes on fellow major winners Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke and Keegan Bradley.

Long-tipped as a major talent, McIlroy made a serious breakthrough this year.

The US Open was his first major victory but he is already being tipped to surpass Woods’ 14 career victories and challenge the legendary Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record.

That win was all the more impressive because it came on the heels of a disastrous blow-out at the US Masters that saw him throw away a four shot lead on the final day.

In terms of talent, his peers say he is the best around right now.

And he’s a nice guy too, using his victory speech after the US Open win to say ‘thank you’ to his mum.

The Grand Slam tournament brings the four major winners together in Bermuda for an end-of-year curtain closer.

Now in its third year as host to this tournament, the Port Royal course has proved itself more than equal to the task.

The Korean golf star YE Yang provided the best assessment of the course describing it as a ‘rose with thorns’ following a tricky round during the ’10 tournament.

Bigger names than Yang have struggled on the wind-swept undulating fairways of the Oceanside course.

And with four more first-time major winners on the tee-box for the start of the 2011 tournament, the course will provide a new test for all the competitors.

McIlroy is the most touted of an emerging crop of young golfers that are beginning to change the dynamics of the sport.

But 26-year-old South African Charl Schwartzel, the man who took the green jacket from the Irishman when he crumbled on the fourth day at Augusta, appears destined to be another name to remember.

Keegan Bradley, the 25-year-old American who shocked a host of big names to win the PGA Championship on his major debut, rounds out a youthful field with 43-year-old Darren Clarke the granddaddy of the bunch.

The lovable cigar chomping Irishman is a crowd favourite the world over.

He’ll have that and a lifetime’s worth of experience to give him an edge in what is sure to be another fascinating battle of Bermuda.

A version of this story first appeared in the Bermuda.Com Guide.